Archive for June, 2008

By Michael Dorausch, DC
On a recent road trip (partially along the California five freeway) to Yosemite National Forest, I passed by a number of chiropractic offices. We stopped in Bakersfield on Friday to visit the office of Dr. James Ryan and took some photographs of chiropractic offices in Fresno.
On Saturday, ...

By Michael Dorausch, DC
Royal Palm Beach chiropractor, Dr. Edwin Cordero, e-mailed me this photo, earlier today. It features yours truly receiving an upper cervical chiropractic adjustment while sitting on a folding chair inside a bus terminal. The terminal is a major hub of the country of PanamÃ¡'s mass transit system.
The ...

By Michael Dorausch, DC
Saying no to drugs has been the mantra of many an anti-drug advocate. But most of those advocating saying no have not differentiated between medications like marijuana and drugs like Ritalin. There are drugs and then there are DRUGS. How are innocent children to know the difference?
A ...

On the first day of a hot summer this guy should be extremely busy. Oh wait....
Slowly he would cruise the neighborhood, waiting for that occasional careless child who confused him with another vendor. Sure thing Johnny, you'll be screaming, but it won't be for ice cream.

EDMONTON – Chiropractic health care is a beneficial and effective treatment option that provides thousands of Albertans with relief from pain and dysfunction said the Alberta College and Association of Chiropractors (ACAC) today in response to a call for limits to be placed on vertebral adjustment (also termed manipulation) of the neck.

“In comparison with many other common health care interventions, chiropractic adjustment is one of the safest and lowest risk options,” said ACAC president, Dr. Clark Mills. “Side effects from chiropractic adjustment are typically minor and resolve quickly.”

The most recent research into neck adjustment further supports the safety record. The results of a collaborative and multidisciplinary six-year study by the Bone and Joint Task Force on Neck Pain and its Associated Disorders into the causes, prognosis and treatment of neck pain were published in the peer-reviewed journal Spine in January 2008. The study concludes that Vertebral Basilar Artery (VBA) stroke is a very rare event in the population. The research indicates clearly that the risk of VBA stroke associated with a visit to a chiropractor’s office appears to be no different from the risk of VBA stroke following a visit to a physician’s office.

The study concludes that this type of stroke commonly begins with neck pain and/or headache which causes the patient to seek care from their chiropractor or family physician before the stroke fully develops.

Similarly, a British study of more than 19,000 chiropractic patients encompassing over 50,000 cervical spine manipulations published in October 2007 in Spine found “no reports of serious adverse events.”

In Canada, a study conducted by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) states, “The evidence to date indicates that the risk associated with chiropractic manipulation of the neck is both small and inaccurately estimated. The estimated level of risk is smaller than that associated with many commonly used diagnostic tests or prescription drugs.” The study was published in 2001 in the medical journal Stroke.

“The call for a limit on adjustment of the neck is unfounded and based on anecdotal reports,” said Dr. Mills. “The body of published, peer-reviewed research internationally clearly supports the safety of this health care practice.”

Chiropractic is a regulated health profession in Alberta. Chiropractors deliver health services under a legislated scope of practice. In Canada, chiropractors require a minimum of seven years of post-secondary education: three years at an undergraduate university level including science pre-requisites followed by an additional four years of specialized training at an accredited chiropractic college.

Vitamin A deficiencies in Africa, technology bringing us closer to quantum computing, and reports that plastic bags can be decomposed in three months, all have the topic of scientific breakthroughs in common (according to search results). If the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had its way, based on a report I blogged about nearly 9 years ago today, we may not be reading about these breakthroughs, as well as others.

It was June 20, 1999, when I authored the first post announcing the beginning of a Planet Chiropractic News Service. It wasn’t much of a post by today’s standards, but it was the first official archived post announcing the service. Only days later, on Friday, June 25, 1999, there was something more right up our alley to report on. At that time, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection had announced the launching of a consumer education campaign, as a result of their growing concerns regarding 20 million Americans looking to the Internet for health information.

According to the article, the FTC’s consumer education program was recommending that consumers interested in gaining medical advice online begin with US Government owned web sites, that provided links to reputable sources of information. Frankly at the time, I was surprised that more people were not in an uproar over the campaign. That article became one of the driving forces that motivated me to continue moving forward, and publish fresh chiropractic news content daily. It’s been over 3825 days, and I’m happy to still be moving, and see how things have changed (or remained the same).

In the initial campaign, FDA officials reportedly recommended that consumers should stay away from sites that used phrases like “scientific breakthrough” or included impressive sounding terminology to disguise a lack of scientific proof. They also warned consumers stay away from sites that claimed the government or other groups had conspired to suppress a product. Seen any websites like that in the search indexes lately?

Fast-forward nine years later and there are about 536,000 results indexed in Google (in June 1999 Google was in its infancy, and it had just secured a round of funding from Sequoia capital and another firm) for the term: scientific breakthrough. Websites in the index include many dot-coms (such as Reuters and CNN), dot-orgs (like the International Food Policy Research Institute), newspapers (like the UK’s Independent, The Guardian, and the New York Times), news magazines (like Time), and even dot-gov domains (scroll through the search results to see which ones).

In 2008 it almost seems ludicrous that a federal entity would suggest consumers what keywords not to be using when performing searches online. Or maybe it’s not, they may still be doing so, for all I know. I honestly haven’t been paying as much attention as I had back in 1999. I’m too busy blogging about curing cancer.

By Michael Dorausch, DC
The following is a collection of Twitter messages (follow me here) of people expressing their thoughts on chiropractic. These are all from yesterday (except for the last one, which was on June 13). They make for an interesting collection of image captures on what's going through the ...

By Michael Dorausch, DC
Cures for Cancer promoted online? Whoa! Had a bit too much caffiene tonight and found myself up late viewing health news. Came across several stories regarding the FDA and a warning the government agency has sent out to some 25 companies regarding advertising of Cancer Cures.
Honestly, I ...

Terms like social media and Web 2.0 are some of the most overused phrases being passed across the Internetz, as people try to grab a grip of understanding, and explain the phenomenon to others, regarding the millions of seemingly meaningless discussions and often times one-way conversations, taking place on the web today. Following up on yesterday’s blog post by Dr. Michael Dorausch regarding someone’s first chiropractic appt I scanned vast databases of human conversation, in search of some sort of relevance that could be applied to chiropractic.

We’ve already established that millions are engaged in conversations across the Web, with services like Twitter providing us to follow people from all over the globe, and tune in to what they are doing. Someone may be celebrating their dog’s birthday, having chocolate chip cookies for lunch, or tuned in to share that they just liked 5 miles to the bank to deposit a cashier’s check. Whatever it is they’re doing, there’s a lot of it going on, and in the chaos of the net, it would likely appear as a meaningless mix of mumbo-jumbo, until we tune in and filter out the noise.

What if that person celebrating their dog’s birthday was taking it to the chiropractor for its first adjustment? And the person going to the bank, what if they messaged that they were in their chiropractors reception area, when sending that message? The point is people are clicking, tapping, and talking on mobile devices all over, and communicating from their home computers, work computers, and even laptops. How do you know they’re not talking about you?

Before you shake this off as something likely not very interesting (that mumbo-jumbo of meaningless information), let’s take a look at several one-way conversations that took place during the past 24 hours or so, that involved a single term: chiropractor.

Some of these messages were received as recently as two minutes ago (while preparing this article) and some are as old as 16 hours. The messages have been filtered out from a ginormous database of discussions taking place. Each message is on a line of its own. Let’s take a look…

1) Off to the chiropractor. Maybe he can cure my cold!2) At the chiropractor…my back is jacked up!3) Just visited my chiropractor for some work on neck and back – hope this helps. Also going to try acupuncture for the 1st time next week4) off to chiropractor!5) so, my boss’s boss goes to a chiropractor for “carpal tunnel”; she gives me grief for being in pain and being incapable of sitting still.6) chiropractor: (n.) Someone you pay to be a pain in the neck.7) I wonder if chiropractor’s ever say, “Oh Snap!”…? my chiropractor thinks the dysmotility is a result of my back injury.9) An unheralded member of Team Pemba is Brad’s chiropractor. Today in particular we wish to thank him.10) Wondering whether it was the Claritin or the chiropractor that made me so thirsty. Drank a liter of water on my way into work.11) Chiropractor today! I can’t wait!!12) just finished feeding JD and now have a few minutes before I go to the chiropractor! Back is really bothering the past few days!13) To call the chiropractor a snake oil salesman would be making her sound too noble. I’ll blog about it later–crazy. And my hand is still numb.14) Four clients plus a trip to the chiropractor equals lots of driving today.15) Loving my chiropractor!

That’s 15 messages in all, and there is a lot I think can be learned from them. In reality, they represent a tiny microcosm of the thoughts people are having about their chiropractors worldwide. The first one is thinking about something other than back pain, and the second one is thinking only about their back pain. Number 3 is considering acupuncture for the first time and #4 just wants us to know where they are going. There is a concern about work, two messages from comedians, someone having questions about medications and chiropractic, someone in great anticipation of their visit, someone not happy at all (and planning to write about it) with their chiropractic experience, someone driving, and someone in love… with their chiropractic care.

The messages will mean different things to different people, so I don’t want to overanalyze them. Best to simply read through them objectively and view them as they snapshot of conversation in time. 15 thoughts on chiropractors for June 18, 2008.

Culver City: Summer is officially only a few days away here in the United States and one of America’s favorite forms of entertainment is in full production. Sellout movie releases have already been heating up the sacroiliacs of moviegoers nationwide, as they enjoy improved ergonomic seating and air-conditioned theaters across the country. Here in the moviemaking capital of the world, we like doing things that support our community. I’m a nut for movies, and even after more than a decade of providing chiropractic care to people at all levels of film production, I still get excited going to see a movie that I’ve worked on.

I’ve said it before that you cannot out give the giver, and for a chiropractor practicing in the Culver City area of Los Angeles, the giving (source of our clientele) often comes from the Motion Picture Industry, Screen Actors Guild, Writers Guild, and the hundreds of independent companies that have a symbiotic relationship in the Los Angeles area film and television industry.

It’s no surprise to me that just about a year ago this week I reported on summer movies and chiropractic, Die Hard, the beginning of summer really is an exciting time of year here in LA. Spreading that excitement got a bit easier for our chiropractic office as we tried something new this month. Rather than invest our marketing money in newspapers, coupon books, phonebook ads and such, we decided to buy movie tickets for our existing clientele. Not a single person has failed to express enthusiasm about going to the movies, and we’re feeling good knowing we are helping support the cycle in an industry that provides us with much business.

The purchasing of movie tickets in quantity is less expensive then you may think. We purchased our tickets in bulk from Regal Entertainment Group, which is the company behind United Artist (UA) theaters, and I’m sure that AMC and other theaters have similar packages available as well. We went with premium tickets so that our patients could go see their favorite movies without any restrictions. We have an added bonus of having a UA Marina Del Rey 6 (4335 Glencoe Ave.) theater less than 2 miles from our office, which was reported by most of our clients, to be the neighborhood theater they go to most.

A really interesting thing has happened as a result of handing out all these tickets. Summer movies have become the hot topic in our LA chiropractic office, and I’m A-OK with that. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a chiropractor and I can talk about it all day long, but this is LA, where movies and television is a topic many are comfortable talking about. As I mentioned earlier, I’m a nut for movies, so I’ve been going to see lots of stuff in the theater. The past few weeks we’ve been talking about Iron Man (loved it) and I’ve been reminding clients that until science offers them a powered exoskeleton, they’d better be taking care of their spine and posture, if they intend to perform like a technologically advanced superhero (or drive on the 405 freeway).

Another cool thing about Iron Man is that production took place in the former Hughes Company soundstages, located about a mile from my office, in Playa Vista. That same space is being used currently for the production of Transformers II (expected to be released summer 2009).

(photo: the tickets we had printed from Regal Entertainment Group included a custom thank you message from our office)

This weeks chiropractic movie topics have revolved around The Incredible Hulk, Kung Fu Panda, and You Don’t Mess With the Zohan (Adam Sandler is one of my favorites when it comes to comedy). The Hulk has been getting rave reviews from folks in our practice, and I’ve been reminding them that chemical imbalances in the body magnify significantly when stressed or enraged. Some meditative breathing is a nice addition to a chiropractic adjustment. I haven’t seen Kung Fu Panda yet but I’m hearing good things from visiting patients. It’s on the list of movies to check out this weekend.

Hancock, starring Will Smith, is expected to be in some theaters July 1, and it was filmed in Los Angeles. I watched the previews when going to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (theater was sold out) and Prince Caspian: Chronicles of Narnia. Films like Hancock and Wanted (starring Angelina Jolie) provide health-care providers great opportunities to remind their patients to buckle up.

The Love Guru, starring Mike Myers, is due for release on Friday and from the previews I’ve seen it looks very funny. Looking forward to lots of laughter with that film. So spread the love and take someone to the movies this summer. If you are a business owner there’s plenty of time to order tickets (search terms like corporate movie tickets or bulk theater tickets) so that you can share them with your favorite clients. When they go to the movies, they’ll be supporting many of the people that have helped my business thrive, and I’m thankful for that.

By Michael Dorausch, DC
Checking your website log files is a great way to discover what kinds of searches are resulting in visitors to your site or blog. You can optimize your site for particular words you want to be found for and you can incorporate popular terms to easily drive ...

Oh boy where do I start. I love being a Chiropractor because I have the opportunity to change people’s lives by sharing the truth with them about Chiropractic. I love when the lightbulb goes off over their head. I love it even more when they demonstrate that they get it by bringing in their whole family and by staying under regular care year after year. I love sharing Chiropractic because I believe that every man, woman and child should know the truth and then be able to make a choice about how they want to take care of their own health. I can’t control or change their actions but I can get better at communicating my truth and do get better every year. I love that when I grow then my practice grows.

Yes there are parts of practice that really frustrate me like the people who don’t get it. Sometimes I struggle not to take it personally when a patient walks away and doesn’t get it. I have trouble with insurance companies that are business entities designed to make profits and cut their bottom line. I really can’t stomach the Medical Doctors who tell their patients that they don’t need Chiropractic or the mother-in-laws who do the same. I hate when patients disappear when their symptoms disappear. All that said, this article isn’t about them.

This article is about all of the pregnant women who I take care of and the espcially the familes who make their first outing after the baby is born to my office to get their baby checked.

This article is about the miracles that happen in my office, many of them that I don’t even know about. A couple of weeks ago I printed out testimonial sheets and brought out my digital camera. My walls of my office are covered with the miracles. I love when the new patients walk up and down reading them. When I have a free moment I love to read them. I love how proud the patients are when they hand me back the forms and brag to me how their lives have been changed since they have been getting adjusted. I love when they are amazed that symptoms they didn’t bother telling me about when they first started care mysteriously disappears.

This article is also about all of you male Doc’s who have been getting women pregnant for years. Take a second and count all of the women who were told that they couldn’t have children and got pregnant after they were under your care. Pretty amazing, even more amazing that I help women get pregnant and I am a woman.

This article is also about all of the horrific things that didin’t happen. I see hundreds of people a week and on one hand I can count how many of my active patients have been diagnosed with cancer. Of my regular lifetime patients I only know of 1 who had a heart attack while under regular care. I have been in practice 24 years and I can only think of 1. I don’t know of 1 person under regular care in all those years that had a stroke, not 1.

People’s lives depend on whether they get under regular care or not. This isn’t a big joke. I tease the patients, “I might be white and flacky but I’m not aspirin.” Those that use chiropractic adjustments as a quick pain reliever are putting their lives at risk.

So I got one story to share with you. Many of you can tell a similar story and I have at least a dozen similar stories but I am going to tell you this one because it happened again this week. I have been taking care of this lady who is now in her mid 60′s for about a decade. She comes in every week, has hardly missed one in all these year. Her husband is usually with her and hasn’t missed one of our in-office parties in years. He has never been adjusted, doesn’t think that he needs it. He loves the office, tells the front desk girls jokes and wouldn’t leave without saying hi to me and giving me a smile. Brace yourself, you know what’s coming – he died last week – lung cancer. His wife came in the next morning to get adjusted and cry on our shoulders. She didn’t hold us responsible but I can’t help but wonder if I should have tried harder. Maybe I should have nagged him a little. Maybe I should have done something. I don’t think she even gets it. If she didn’t have chronic back pain she might have quit coming years ago. Maybe her back pain is saving her life.

Sometimes I feel like I am talking swaheelee to my patients. They don’t get it aaaaannnnnddddd sometimes I change their lives! That’s what I love about being a chiropractor.

Last but not least, I love having a 2 Chiropractic Families. I love my husband and my kids, most of which are thinking about being Chiropractors too and then there is you. I love my friends in Chiropractic. We come from all walks of life and unite to CHANGE THE WORLD!

The image shown below is a scan from a supersized postcard I received from Denver Chiropractor Steve Visentin, and it features an automobile accident checklist to be put in a person's glove compartment.
The postcard was made out of heavy card stock and the opposite side had information about chiropractic care, ...

The Story of Geri Carlson and the book she’s written about chiropractic care, after an upper cervical adjustment received in February 2004, changed her life.

Chronic suffering is enough to torment any individual, and Geri Carlson lived that misery. As Geri puts it, she was trapped in a cycle of suffering until a hand reached down and showed her the way out. The “cure to her medical ailment” was a chiropractic adjustment from a subluxation based chiropractor practicing in South Bend Indiana. She remembers the visit, it was Wednesday, February 4, 2004. Geri said the adjustment given that day changed and saved her life, leaving her amazed with the results of chiropractic care.

Since that time Geri Carlson has become an advocate for chiropractic. She’s been so inspired by the changes she’s experienced under chiropractic care that she’s authored a book (I Stand Amazed: How Chiropractic Saved My Life, paperback, ISBN:1-60034-874-2) and launched a website to spread the message to others.

According to Geri Carlson, an upper cervical chiropractic adjustment was the procedure performed by the chiropractor she visited. Earlier this year, we reported on Montel Williams giving a testimonial of upper cervical chiropractic care, and the positive effect it has had on his health and well-being.

Geri Carlson has a mission of “reaching the world till we get on every last nerve.” With her books, website, speaking engagements, and other activities, she intends to spread the truth about reputable, subluxation based chiropractic care to all those that are willing to listen. Not only did chiropractic save her life, it ultimately changed her life in ways she did not expect, and she says it’s been a tremendous blessing to her. Geri doesn’t want anyone tormented by the suffering that can be caused by ill health, especially when it can be prevented or helped in some way. She is passionate about advocating subluxation based chiropractic care, and she is not alone.

Add Geri Carlson to a long list of chiropractic advocates. She is referred to by some as an Ambassador for Chiropractic and the chiropractic professions MVP. She now works full time to help educate and bring awareness to others about the benefits of chiropractic care.

Why write a book on ones experience in chiropractic when it’s already such a popular field of health care? Carlson says, “This is important information that should be shouted from every rooftop. We’re talking about changing people’s lives! It is my hope that anyone who reads this book will learn how I went from torment to solace in a matter of seconds. But I didn’t just hit the lottery. Amazing results are happening in chiropractor offices all across the country! If someone is suffering physically or mentally, and they need relief now, this is a must-read.”

On her website Geri mentions how many people she knows or has met that are in wheelchairs, or are incapable of performing activities of daily living. She also knows those that are deeply depressed or inflicted with chemical imbalances that have robbed them of good health. She acknowledges the reality that for some reason there are those that will decline to try chiropractic, possibly assuming that the position they are currently in is the best they can hope for. She acknowledges that our society has been conditioned to believe they need a medical doctor’s permission to visit a doctor of chiropractic, or receive any form of alternative health care. She also knows that the choice is up to the individual if they want to seek care. She urges others to do their research on chiropractic and find out what choices are available, and to make an informed decision when it comes to ones health.

Often they tell us that their medical physician didn’t think chiropractic could help. Our society has been conditioned to think they need their Medical Doctor’s permission to visit a Doctor of Chiropractic, or any alternative healthcare. But it’s our choice; and I urge you to make an informed decision.

The website of Geri Carlson is in its early stages, having just recently launched. You can visit it by clicking on the following link: I Stand Amazed

By Michael Dorausch, DC
I love road trips. With the rising prices of gasoline, I don't know how much I'm going to love the cost of a road trip I am taking later this week. Living in Venice Beach California, I almost always just head along Lincoln Boulevard to LAX (Los ...